My boys are still young, but I’m planning on having them get it. One of my friends has/had cervical cancer due to HPV. She was mid-late 30s when she was diagnosed. Her treatment was really intense and resulted in a lot of complications including loss of fertility. She eventually had to stop teaching because it was too hard on her body (even after she had completed treatments, etc). She is now an advocate for Cervivor and educating about the HPV vaccine. Although uncommon, HPV can cause some cancers in men.
My son is 15 and every year since he was 12 I've reviewed pros and cons and decided the research is not convincing me he needs it and that there are no longitudinal studies on males or females for that matter.
The advertisement that was mentioned "Did you know, mom, dad..." really irritates me. Shaming or guilting parents is not going to influence me to get my child a shot.
I discussed it again with his doctor this year. Most people do end up with HPV BUT a ridiculously high number of those who do get it don't suffer any long term affects because their immune system fights it off. Most never even know they have HPV.
Obviously this is a very personal decision and I'm not passing any judgement to those who do have their sons get the shot.
My nephew is only nine, but I know he’ll be getting the vaccine. My sister and I had a family friend who developed cervical cancer from HPV. It was one of the most awful things we’ve ever witnessed.
But I got HPV/cervical cancer after my ex-husband’s affair 8 years ago. Luckily, a minor surgery removed the cancer cells and I have been fine ever since. I’m 36 now and have not decided if I want children but there is a risk of infertility with the virus and surgery.
From what my doctor has shared with me, men are carriers of the virus and is does not show up in regular STD screenings for them. So even if a man is sexually active and getting screened for infections, HPV can slip by. It can also lay dormant for years and not affect a woman until 10+ years later since an exposure.
Regular Pap smears catch most cases of HPV, as mine did, but it is still something I would have rather not dealt with.
The head football coach at our school got throat cancer from the HPV virus. That is one of the major ways that it effects males. It was a very long and draw out process to get over it. The nurse at our school had to force him to go to the doctor. It was great that she did. They caught it early so that he could be treated. So I would seriously consider why you would not want them to have the vaccine.
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08-11-2018, 05:33 PM
